This presentation covers three exhibition projects that Kate Thomson and Hironori Katagiri produced to support post-tsunami recovery: "Postcards From Japan" is an exhibition of A5-sized artworks by 22 Tohoku artists touring the world, so far shown in Edinburgh, New York, London, and Birmingham.

"Postcards To Japan" includes over 470 works sent from all over the world to tour Tohoku, first shown at the Iwate Museum of Art, currently on show at Fukushima Museum of Art, next going to Minami Soma Museum and more informal venues along the coast of Tohoku. "TOHOKU-SCOTLAND" is an exhibition of sculpture, paintings, collage and prints by Scottish artists who took part in the Iwate Art Festival UK98 and artists from Tohoku shown in Edinburgh, UK. (in English)

"Information Retrieval" is the title of a continuous series of works by Geraldine Lau. The art is inspired by maps, plans, and elevations, both contemporary and antique. We also find out how she processes imagery and data to create a new works, be it a drawing, an infographic chart, or an art spoof collage.

Anna is a college student, who embarked on a wonderful journey one year ago - to explore the world. It has been truly lifechanging. She did two study abroad programs and two internships, volunteered, learned to speak Croatian and changed my future career plans. In this presentaiton, she discussed some main points that living abroad and moving all the time has taught her - from Croatia to Japan.

Fish market worker Harue Suzuki introduces an offbeat world of collage art, using fish intestines ...yes, you read that correctly, fish intestines. “The fresh ones are so colorful and beautiful”, Suzuki san notes. These curious artworks will surely leave us with a sense of wonder. We can’t wait!

SITEWIDE PRESENTATIONS

Justin Davies is an educator and artist. He likes to work in a range of media which he uses to integrate historical, scientific and aesthetic perspectives. His work is also influenced by his love of film and by his studies in biology and history.

The Italian-Swedish team of laughter monsters (Sara Ferraioli + Carl Ydergård) tell their rhythmic story of how Daniele -- who happened to be the guitarist at the same evening -- made his career doing something other than playing football.

Doug Ing likes to make things, whether it is a Vine video, a short documentary, a cartoon or an artwork, he enjoys the act of creating. Often times, a random thought occurs during his daytime activities and that will find itself in an artwork. He finds inspiration from random phrases, Facebook, conversations and dreaming.

Architect Ananth Sampathkumar takes us through the world of architectural competitions - from historical examples of the Sydney Opera House and Pompidou Center to a cultural center in Sri Lanka.

Ananth studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, India before moving to New York. Here he co-founded NDNY Architecture and Design, completing projects in Srilanka, India, and the USA.

Artist Teacher Vici Blackburn takes us through the inspiration for her work and the how this unusual mix of paint, paper and clay are worked together. Vici has been very busy recently with exhibitions, comissions and participation at drawing events. So exciting to see a UCM BA Hons Fine Art graduate continue to be excited about making work and sharing this with her students at QEII High School.

In his first of two presentations of this Pecha Kucha Night, Steffen Rasmussen tells us about the dark realities of mentally abusive relationships. Steffen has helped many people in these situations and these are his outsider perspectives.

Chronicling 20 highlights and a vast amount of learning from a 19-year career, Deborah Bowness reflects on influences and inspirations. For ‘Paper Trail’ Deborah takes her hand printed, hand painted, trompe l’oeil wallpapers onto the streets to create staged sets, still lives, unexpected encounters and 'a game for the soul', infusing towns and cities with poetry and wonder.

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SITEWIDE BLOG POSTS

Pecha Kucha Night Gothenburg Vol. 12 was held last week (January 29) as part of the 32nd Gothenburg International Film Festival. It managed to fill up the Film Festival tent with over 400, to the chagrin of many in line who didn't manage to get in. Coordinator Jesper Larsson promises an even bigger venue for the next edition though -- on March 25 -- at Park Lane, with a capacity of 650.
The photos above were taken by Jesper using the iPhone's Toy Camera app, creating a lovely colored collage -- more here. Below, party pics courtesy of media partner Djungeltrumman -- visit the event page for more.

PechaKucha Night was back in Columbus last month for an eighth edition. Held at Landmark's Gateway Theater and with a superb turnout of more than 225, here's a report from that city's organizer Lindsay Kenzig, including quotes from some of the presenters:
First of all, we had an amazing event. The energy was great and we had one of our best attended events -- about 225 people, but I think we lost count in the rush at the door. We had an amazing variety of presenters who all had unique things to talk about. Prior to the event, we had several articles written, which helped draw a crowd that had previously been unaware of the event in our city.
Our first presenter, Helen Hoffelt, had this to say about her photography:
"For us to rise, we have to let go. What weighs us down has to be left behind. Sometimes, what is left behind can be compassionately incorporated into who we are. As we fly, we create a new sense ourselves. We need to pay attention to what our lives teach us. When we do that I believe we all can fly."
Cyrus Fire, an artist, said: "It was a one of the most exciting nights of my life." He suggests PKN organizers work with presenters hands-on ahead of the event (for example, helping presenters with breathing techniques).
Zaineb Alani presented her work as an Iraqi poet. Her poetry was amazing and very moving. She says that PechaKucha was "a unique opportunity to voice an insight into the 'other side' in a setting that greatly enhanced the content of my delivery."
Matt Meindl talked about his film Digital Underpants: "It's a manic stop-motion animated collage made from hundreds of real teenage love notes." On PKN, he "liked the diverse presentations but also the general atmosphere that made it OK to be honest, vulnerable, creative, and silly."
Other presenters included: Matt Carbone, an architectural photographer; Matt Meindl, a filmmaker who presented 20 short film clips; Artie Isaac who talked about the democratization of public speaking and his new website SpeakerSite; Reza Reyazi, an urban planner speaking about Columbus' oldest neighborhood Franklinton; Walker Evans, who spoke about his work on the site ColumbusUnderground; artist John Sherman Lathram III, who is working on a new book about body modification; Corey Aumiller, an artist who presented "20 Irrational Fears"; and Kristy Yosick, a master chocolatier.
The press coverage mentioned appeared in Columbus Alive and Metromix. PKN Columbus Vol. 9 is set for May 21.
Below, a few images from Vol. 8.
Artie Isaac
Helen Hoffelt
Matthew Carbone
Zaineb Alani
Reza Reyazi
Matt Meindl
John Lathram
Yosick's Artisan Chocolates (left) and Corey Aumiller (right)

PechaKucha Night in Savannah Vol. 2 was held back at the end of April, but it's never too late to cover an event, and we absolutely love the panoramic view of the venue -- the Structured Green warehouse -- sent to us by organizer Aaron Cohen, and taken by Travis Linville. Aaron also sends us the following report:
The inaugural PKN Savannah that took place in March turned out to be such a fine mix of talent and company that we found ourselves slightly daunted at the prospect of putting together a second PKN to match. The second rendition grew in both scale and audience -- good thing the evening was spent in the expansive and super cool environs of Structured Green's warehouse space. There, with vodka lemonades and PBRs in hand, a stellar crowd kicked back on hand-built furniture as the evening unfolded on the big screen.
Musician and writer Rigel Crockett took us aboard the tall ship, Picton Castle, for a trip around the world. Back on shore, artist and curator Harry DeLorme brought us on the road with him to visit the roadside shrines of Northern Argentina. Chef Robbie Wood extolled the pleasures of "clean food" in a graphic few minutes that left the crowd rethinking the food industry. With his art, Ben Bublick showed how art can envelope people in color, form and texture. Erin Salzer Hannah, landscape architect, brought us down to earth again with the demonstrated challenge of creating small, urban gardens.
The second half of the program continued the awesomeness with Orlando Montoya of Georgia Public Radio whose impeccable voice and timing kept us raptly tuned into to the history of public radio. Sculptor Andrew F. Scott turned history on its ear with his take on African folk arts. Musician turned collage artist, Matte Wagner took to the mic like he was playing the Fillmore. Craig Drennen had the crowd look straight in the eye of darkness with his brilliant adaption of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens; the experience mapped pleasure, politics and humor in a convergence of representation. The night was capped by tattoo artist Ron Dacosta's bold account of his life and times with the needle.
PKN Savannah Vol. 3 is planned for September.

PechaKucha Night in Buenos Aires Vol. 14 was held last week at the Ciudad Cultural Konex, enjoying an amazing turnout of close to 600 attendees. Organizer May Groppo fills us in on the night that was.
The night started with DJ Villa Diamante welcoming puzzled guests who received cardboard 3D glasses on the door. Volume 14 in Buenos Aires was up to something, and packed (around 600 people). Mandetta (our male host in a dress as usual) opened the event with the cellphone-drawing-in-the-air warm up (since we saw PKN Denver's pics we couldn't resist).
The first presentation was from Schwerpunkt and was a 3D experience. It then was then followed by Noavestruz, and then right away by Collage Lab with Nase from Amsterdam and his graffiti and his lovely girlfriend translating the whole speech (love is in the air). Zkysky is a design studio that has been on the market for 20 years now but decided not to show its work and instead shared their daily inspiration.
Mariano Sigman is a scientist who studies the brain (neuroscience) and he bewildered us with his findings in such a simple and funny way that left everybody wanting for more. Picnic closed the first part with their home decor ideas and excellent taste.
After the break with lots of chatting and drinks, it was time for the NGO of the night, Amartya, with its volunteering projects. Candelaria from Maldón Entertainment narrated her passion for board games and how she was planning for their come back -- amazing story.
Pepe Monje and Bobby Flores (celebrities in music and tv) decided to improvise onstage and read an expert from a play they did together while sharing family pictures. ZZK Records made us proud, describing its foray into the international music scene with their mash-ups and cumbia electronica mixtapes. The last presenter was Franco Fasoli (jazz) who showed his street art together with his new more traditional art.
See you in October with more creative, weird, funky, funny, and smart people onstage!

Presentations
Our first presentation (from PKN Tokyo Vol. 93) covers three exhibition projects that Kate Thomson and Hironori Katagiri produced to support post-tsunami recovery. "Postcards From Japan" is an exhibition of A5-sized artworks by 22 Tohoku artists touring the world, so far shown in Edinburgh, New York, London, and Birmingham. "Postcards To Japan" includes over 470 works sent from all over the world to tour Tohoku, first shown at the Iwate Museum of Art, currently on show at Fukushima Museum of Art, next going to Minami Soma Museum and more informal venues along the coast of Tohoku. "TOHOKU-SCOTLAND" is an exhibition of sculpture, paintings, collage and prints by Scottish artists who took part in the Iwate Art Festival UK98 and artists from Tohoku shown in Edinburgh, UK.
Vikram Divecha is an artist and advertising professional based in Dubai. In his presentation (from PKN Dubai Vol. 11), he shares with us his recent artistic project, Concbots, which has been inspired by Dubai and its ever-increasing levels of construction and urbanization.
Posters and video
Malaga's very first PKN is set for September -- the city is so new its city page on our site hasn't been activated yet -- and the poster above acts at a call to participate. The one of the additions today on our Tumblr blog, along with a poster for last week's PKN Risor Vol. 2. Below, a video promo for this Sunday's PKN Genoa Vol. 3.
Photos
We have two photo galleries to share today, with the two photos you see above taken at the recent PKN Buenos Aires Vol. 25 -- we sure love that giant screen they used to project the presentations.PKN Buenos Aires Vol. 25 [Blue Vertigo]PKN Winnipeg Vol. 5 [Flickr]
Above, a few photos from the South Florida Gay News (Volume 3, Issue 26) for last week's PKN Miami Vol. 16, which revolved around the exhibition "GRAPHIC INTERVENTION - 25 Years of International AIDS Awareness Posters 1985–2010."
Calendar
First, a reminder of what to expect tonight (June 29): PKN Edinburgh Vol. 18, PKN Fort Worth Vol. 6, PKN Wellington Vol. 14, PKN Gainesville Vol. 4, and PKN Springfield, Ohio Vol. 4. We're looking at a big Saturday night as well, with the following events on tap: PKN Taipei Vol. 20, PKN Innsbruck Vol. 1, PKN Dunedin Vol. 14, PKN Ginowan Vol. 9, PKN Vaduz Vol. 11, and PKN Seattle Vol. 38. And don't forget PKN Genoa Vol. 3 on Sunday!

"Information Retrieval" is the title of an on-going series of works by Geraldine Lau. The art is inspired by maps, plans, and elevations; both contemporary and antique. In her presentation (at PKN Tokyo Vol. 97) we find out how she processes imagery and data to create new works -- be it a drawing, an infographic chart, or an art spoof collage.

The Czech Republic city of Znojmo hosted their Volume 2 in late October of last year, but that won't stop us from making you aware of their collage-style poster made specially for that event. Utilizing found objects to form the words "PechaKucha" struck us as very clever; the creativity we see here at PK HQ never ceases to amaze.
To see more great posters from PechaKucha nights all over the world, check out our Tumblr blog.

We're always delighted to see PechaKucha in the classroom as a tool for learning. Our "mechakucha" friend and PechaKucha Maastricht Organizer, Sueli Kyomi Brodin recently brought the 20x20 format to a class of a 150 international business students at Zuyd University where students learned the value of PK and the art of concise presentations!

"An architect, it seems, has to be an optimist and idealist. That by building we're somehow making the world a better place. But before you need buildings, you need people."
In Collage City from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 17, artist, designer, realtor and retired paramedic, Jean-Michel Reed, shares stories and perceptions of Buffalo, New York as an intimate outsider. Reed moved to Buffalo in 1992, working first as a paramedic, and later transitioning to both a designer and a realtor as the city attempted an about face. Cites are made first of people, and then within those individual people, of experiences. It is this combination of convergent and divergent experiences that construct the sociological makeup of place and city, which, in turn manufactures the physical landscape.